Camp Second Chance
by Defilia
Summary: It has been 20 years since the case of Anomaly #001 and Preben deems himself a proud member of a smugglers group in quarantine camp 'Second Chance'. When he's forced to smuggle people to the outside world however, he definitely starts doubting his life choices.


He had never really paid attention to that one kid before. There had always been his little group of friends that took the same streets to get back home after school, chattering about soccer and laughing along the way. There was simply no need to pay attention to anyone else. This other kid lived in the other side of town; at least that was what Preben presumed. He just always went the other way as soon as the school bell went off. Plus he was so quiet, never really talked unless he had to and even then it was the faintest of a mumble that left his mouth.

Not really Preben's idea of the ideal playmate.

He honestly tried to be friends with anyone, say some sort of greeting to as many kids as possible on the playground but the fact that he couldn't even recall this kid's name….

That was until he found him fixing a watch on the sidewalk just after school on that early autumn afternoon, most kids already gone home. Preben himself was late because of a flat tire and after asking one of the teachers for help he was ready to go. He kept lingering around though, as he watched the kid work with utter precision and a frown on his face, taking out little gears and placing them back in as if it was the easiest puzzle to solve. Preben wondered if maybe, maybe this wasn't normal. That it was the thing his mom had told him about a year ago after he'd had the urge to wrap himself in eight blankets until the frost on his skin disappeared. It didn't. Preben leaned on his steering wheel, eyes still glued on those working fingers before he spoke up.

"How do you do that?"

The boy looked up with a flash of fear on his face and immediately the watch, or rather the pieces of it, dropped onto the street as he made a run for it. Preben jumped from his bike, not caring where it landed on the concrete as he ran over to pick up the biggest parts of the watch and chased after the kid.

"Hey come back! C'mon, I just…!"

The boy didn't seem to listen, kept on running without looking back. That was until he made the mistake of sprinting into little alley next to the Bakery. With that dead end at this time of the day, he was forced to turn around and finally face Preben.

That expression of pure terror was still so visibly readable as both boys caught their breaths.

"Look, listen to me. I'm not gonna rat on you, I swear."

In a useless attempt at surrender he threw both of his hands up in air, as if physically hurting him was ever an option.

The boy still didn't reply, eyes looking at the spaces between Preben and the walls in a vain attempt to find a way out of the little alley.

"Just…What's your name? I'm Preben." He tried his best to smile in the most genuine way possible, something that always felt like a second nature until now for some reason. The corners of his lip didn't twitch up enough without it being uncomfortable and he couldn't help but sigh as he slowly lowered his arms again.

"I know you…" The boy started, finally speaking up although it was still hushed in a way that Preben had to pay close attention in order to hear what he was saying. It was a start, however, and Preben didn't mention it in a way that he would normally do.

"And why should I trust you?"

"Because I'm just like you!"

"No, you're not."

Preben bit his lip, carefully sneaking glances over both his shoulders to make sure they were the only ones around. Mom always said not to do anything when people were around, that he wasn't allowed to play superhero just yet. It could grab the attention of the wrong people, those who demanded vaccines and wanted the others to be locked up.

The alley was still completely deserted; the only noise being the cars at the other end and his own heart still beating in his ears. He concentrated, closed his eyes. One cracked open again to eye the other kid before saying:

"Watch this." A grin on his face before both eyes closed again.

He was still learning, trying to get a hang of this thing when he had the chance to. Mom always knew when he had been practising. She could feel their apartment getting colder somehow; just like Preben started to feel the cold himself with both his arms slowly growing a small layer of snow.

Upon opening his eyes again, he saw the kid staring at his hands in something that could be called awe -or annoyance- , he couldn't tell. Nevertheless the grin on Preben's face grew wider as his fingers wiggled around, snow not moving an inch as they covered his skin from fingers up to wrists.

"Pretty awesome, huh? Mom says that if I try hard I can become a superhero like the ones on the news."

"Why would you want that?" The boy asked, brows furrowing together in confusion.

Preben didn't get it.

"Because then I can save people!"

"But I don't think they would want our help."

Preben just laughed for a second, shoulders moving and the snow slowly melting from his hands again. "You're weird."

"I'm Berwald."

"Huh?"

"I'm not weird, I'm Berwald. That's a big difference." Berwald said, pushing his glasses further back on his nose before crossing his arms. He finally moved after that, passing next to Preben to make his way out of the little alley now that he deemed he situation safe. "And I gotta get home before my dad gets worried."

Preben turned around, catching up to walk in stride with his newly dubbed friend. Why hadn't he talked to this kid earlier?

"Well Berwald, you just wait! In a few years I'll be all over the news as this town's newest hero."

* * *

_The arrest of the man who breathed fire has been…._

_Several other reports of the now so called Anomalies all around the country…_

_The number of confirmed deaths after the demonstrations caused by Anomaly supporters against the execution of 5 Anomalies has now passed 350._

_All these bodies, it was horrifying. _

_Those are not people, but monsters!_

_It has been confirmed that Europe now finally agrees on the Quarantine plan that had been denied by the President for the past few months. Measures will be taken from tomorrow onwards to ensure public safety. Washinton will be the first state to…_

_So far there is still is no confirmed cure for the Anomaly gene that was discovered. Doctors are still searching, the public hoping. So far 19 cities have been placed under martial law and the number keeps expanding._

_All Anomalies must assign to a nearby hospital to be registered where there will be decided if they qualify for quarantine or not. _

_A rebellious group of Anomalies called The People of Tomorrow has claimed responsibility for all 3 attacks that happened yesterday during…_

_Riots have continued to manifest for a third week. The governor has called a state of emergency, as electricity and clean water are still hard to come by. Quarantine will be provided last, says…._

_The People of Tomorrow demand rights for all Anomalies and claim to continue sabotaging quarantine until registrations and collars are abolished. _

_The remaining braches of the government clearly state that every Tomorrow Supporter will be killed on sight. The Los Angeles quarantine zone, The New Dawn, has been declared unsafe after riots caused by the execution of another 3 Tomorrowner's within quarantine walls._

_Remember whose side you're really on. We are this species new hope for survival, not what they want you to believe. We are the People of Tomorrow._

* * *

It was the loud knocking on his door that woke him up from a slumber that wasn't that deep to begin with. His body jerking up violently made him realize that, if it hadn't been for the knocking, a nightmare would've done the job anyway.

The banging didn't stop and, afraid that the door might collapse because those hinges were shit to begin with, he just yelled: "I'm coming, I'm coming" several times until he could finally open it, still rubbing the remains of his slumber out of the corner of his eye.

Mathilde just stormed inside -although not as fast as usual, Preben noted- without giving him a second glance before she seated herself on his table.

"Hey, I don't know where that ass has been!" he commented while feigning annoyance. It was hard to sound cheery after just waking up like that, but he managed just fine by his standards. His slight smile disappeared however as she didn't seem to get to joke….or didn't want to acknowledge it. She merely ran a frustrated hand through her hair instead.

It took him a moment to notice how she refused to turn her head. Her golden hair was always so good at covering up half of her face. Walking up to her and grabbing Mathilde softly by the shin, he carefully turned her face to reveal the purple bruise on her cheekbone.

"Who did this?"

He sighed at her frown and turned around to grab the bottle of cheap alcohol stashed in one of the cupboards. The slightly dirty rag that was still on the table within reach got soaked in the liquid and pressed against the bruise.

All she did was hiss before she finally answered him, but only because of his constant nudging at her legs.

"Nobody important, okay? We got our cargo so-"

"You shouldn't have gone without me…" He muttered, shaking his head in the process. She huffed once, and then twice after a slight pause.

"Like I said, we got what we needed."

"I hope these fuckers aren't among us anymore then?"

She chuckled a little at that, in a way her shoulders moved up and down as if it were a small hiccup or two.

"They cut off all our radios…"

It took him a moment to register the change in conversation; that it wasn't about creeps that were strangled in some alleyway just outside of quarantine borders for the Military to find anymore. "Wait, what?"

"Arthur made a deal apparently, for more food supplies for his people and now everyone is cut off." She clarified, taking the rag that was left abandoned on the table, Preben being too busy kicking the most nearby chair in anger.

"How stupid and selfish is he?!"

Mathilde jumped off of the table, her hands firmly grabbing his own by the wrist and pulling them down from knotting in his hair. "Look, Martijn has offered that we all go talk to him and-"

"We're still not allowed to cross to other sections for a month after they found out about the collar sabotage." He cut in before she could finish, brows furrowing as she just gave him that confident look she could pull off so beautifully, even with that bruise covering her features.

She only smiled in that wicked little way he had always adored, shaking her head. "As if that has ever stopped us."

* * *

"C'mon let's get this over with before curfew."

The quarantine walls could be seen over the decaying buildings as the ever present reminder when he stepped out of his horrible excuse of a house. It wasn't actually his since everything belonged to quarantine, one way or another, but after fighting a good few people over it Preben sure as hell dared to claim it his own. It was his just like that collar around his neck was and in this world, and a little bit of luck, that was just about everything you had as an anomaly.

His eyes scanned upwards to the guard on top of the flat roofs, looking down on them like the stuck rats they were.

"Still with me?" She tugged at his arm a little, the warmth of her touch bleeding through his dirty flannel and snapping his attention back to Mathilde and the plan.

"Yeah, sorry. Let's go."

"I gotta have you with me a 100% when we get there, you know."

"As if Arthur isn't on the run yet. The only thing we'll see of him is his chicken ass. " He grinned, mimicking some wing flapping for emphasis that wasn't needed in the first place.

Her smile and laugh were a little wistful. It wasn't that Preben actually recognized the face; he had always had a lot of trouble with reading people's expressions, could never decide for himself when it was a good time to stop talking. The only reason why he was so sure of it now was because of her hand fidgeting around the necklace she always wore, the necklace her little brother gave her for her birthday one day. The one family member that to this day still didn't have a name in Preben's head because neither Mathilde nor Martijn ever trusted him enough to actually share it. So he just labelled the kid like he always had.

The Little Brother that didn't make it.

He often wondered if the necklace was the only thing she had from Before. She wasn't the only one who carried something around. Anomalies always smuggled stuff through Sectors; possessions so dear to them it was worth every risk. Little tokens that reminded everyone of what the world used to be and how normal life had been once. How the lucky ones were able to get personal possessions like keychains or photographs past the quarantine border on the first day, while others just found stuff along the way and claimed it as their own as if it had been from Before. He himself often brought new stuff in, stuffed his backpack full of things like old and incomplete scrabble sets or a mouldy stuffed animal for the new kids that flocked around these days because giving that stuff away without having to ask for ration tickets or bullets in return was like reliving Christmas morning again on those little faces.

He knew Martijn's pipe used to belong to his dad and that he never really got to use it because as soon as he deemed himself old enough to start getting addicted to nicotine it was already too hard to come by. Preben still kept the little bag of tobacco he found during the last smuggle safely tucked away under his bed, for when Martijn's birthday would come around.

Mathilde dragged him over into the next alley, her slight worry completely gone, now making sure not to pass the soldiers at the border checkpoint at the end of their section. He hated going Outside through this hotel. Always too full of people that never minded their own business. It wouldn't be the first time they got ratted on over the promise of ration tickets by some of the soldiers. She just huffed a laugh at his obvious annoyance while pushing the heavy door open. She was never the one to take someone else's bullshit and often he was thankful for it, unless it was his own.

The corridor was as dimly lit as he last remembered it and it made him realize how long it had been since they had last used this route, at least a good few months back. It was too hidden in plain sight to actually make use of whenever they pleased and passing through borders wasn't that much of a problem most of the time. They were blessed with things that were going steady, a minimum of riots that could be held in control with shocks. For the past couple of weeks the food supply was even running steady to quarantine Second Chance. They had no use in working that much under the military's noses. Well, not more than they usually did.

And then an arm swung over his shoulder and a familiar laugh sounded close to his ear.

"Hey, where are you two going? You know restrictions are still in order, right?" Gilbert just laughed, not really needing to know the answer, like always really.

Gilbert was someone the Military still considered as an alpha type, even though he had proven his skill to be useful more than once. But even with his minimum amount of restrictions he never looked truly happy with that brother of his on the other side of the camp, locked away more securely. It was hard to pass anything around without him knowing, the birds around for more than just delivering messages to his family member on the other end. Preben reasoned that nobody was as weary of birds as the Anomalies here in Second Chance were.

He noticed that Mathilde hadn't shaken off Gilbert's other arm that was around her neck and kept both of them as close to the albino as possible yet, which was always a good thing. She deserved to be in a better mood more often.

She just shrugged, too casual for the words she spoke. "I didn't see you complaining after you got that collar turned off."

It had been a good five months until Gilbert had been able to send out a new message again and Preben remembered how scared he had been that there wouldn't be something to deliver back to him in the end. It was a low blow. The arms around them disappeared but that smile never faltered, not even when Mathilde decided to resume walking.

"Aww, c'mon Mads you know I didn't mean it like that! I'm just trying to help out, you know, with all that shit about people wanting to find Arthur an-"

"Who else is looking for him then?"

A low chuckle and a cross of his arms. "You too huh? "

Like said before, nothing went around without Gilbert knowing. Preben's eyes found Mathilde's and the look that stared back at him confirmed that feeling low in his gut. This wasn't what they had been planning on. Too many people after Arthur only ruined the chances of him actually hanging around long enough for them to catch him.

"Obviously. He isn't getting away with this." She answered, voice never faltering despite the obvious nervousness she wore like a fitted glove.

Gilbert took a few steps to catch up with both of them, walking in stride between both him and Mathilde, as easy-going as ever. "Not just that! I heard that Cécile wants to skin him alive. From what people have been saying I reckon she's been asking around, trying to figure out where he's hiding."

"What do the Tomorrow People want with Arthur?" Preben heard himself asking while casting a careful glance at Gilbert. Both his hands disappeared in the pockets of his jeans.

"Pfft, as if they would ever tell me."

Mathilde cut in then, "Well, did you tell them anything?"

And Gilbert just laughed again, head even thrown back for a second. "That I don't have a shit clue where he's hiding his cowardly ass."

Preben couldn't help but smile at that one and by the looks of it Mathilde couldn't either. He gave him a good pat on the shoulder. "Good. Hey watch out for yourself all right? I'll be back by tonight for poker." He assured with a curt nod and a grin before taking the left turn at the intersection in the hallway where Mathilde stood waiting patiently for him to say his short goodbye. It took a few seconds before there was a distant reply, their backs already turned and Gilbert's voice as happy as ever.

"Just don't get yourselves into too much trouble."

When the next corridor was completely deserted and only the sound of their own footsteps on the broken tile floor echoing around them, Preben spoke up. "Sooo Tomorrow people are also after Arthur." A low whistle. "He's a dead man."

She linked her arm through his. "Well, let's make sure we find him before they do then."


End file.
